Project Delivery Manager (Unity Project Drops 1-4)

Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities; Manchester; On-site; GBP 55,000; Full time

Job summary

A UK governmental department is seeking a Project Delivery Manager to lead the UNITY Programme's technical planning and execution. The successful candidate will oversee cross-functional delivery teams, ensuring technical milestones are met while managing risks and dependencies. This role offers a salary of £54,531 and benefits including flexible working and a Civil Service pension scheme.

Benefits

Civil Service Pension Scheme

Flexible working options

Learning and development opportunities

Qualifications

• Proven experience in large-scale transformation programmes.
• Strong understanding of change management and system integration.
• Experience in coordinating technical teams and managing vendors.
• Ability to manage risks and resource conflicts across workstreams.
• Familiarity with environment readiness including security and access.

Responsibilities

• Lead planning and execution for each Unity project phase.
• Coordinate delivery teams across infrastructure and integration workstreams.
• Maintain oversight of timelines, dependencies, and risks.
• Engage with vendors and teams to ensure prerequisites are delivered.
• Ensure environments are secure and fit for testing and production.
• Review technical deliverables against acceptance criteria.

Skills

Technical project delivery

Change management

Cross-functional coordination

Stakeholder engagement

Agile/waterfall/hybrid delivery

Tools

MS Projects

Job description

Overview

The Project Delivery Manager is a pivotal role within the UNITY Programme. The UNITY Cluster is a cross-departmental UK government initiative involving HMRC, the Department for Transport (DfT), and MHCLG. Its goal is to modernise and unify back-office operations specifically finance, procurement, HR, and payroll through a shared cloud-based ERP platform powered by SAP and delivered in partnership with Deloitte. The UNITY Cluster represents a significant digital transformation effort, impacting over 100,000 civil servants and aligning with the Shared Services Strategy. The successful candidate will be responsible for leading the technical planning, coordination, and execution of infrastructure, platform, and integration workstreams across all phases of delivery (Drop 1-4). This role ensures that technical milestones are met, environments are fit for purpose, and dependencies are actively managed to support successful implementation of Unity systems across MHCLG and its Arm's Length Bodies (ALBs). You will work closely with internal teams, our ALBs, external vendors, and programme governance structures to maintain oversight of timelines, risks, and resource alignment. This role requires a strong understanding of infrastructure change, cross-functional technical delivery, and stakeholder management in complex transformation environments. This is an excellent opportunity for a delivery-focused professional with technical fluency and leadership capability to contribute to a high-impact, organisation-wide programme.

Responsibilities

• lead planning and execution for each Unity project phase (Drop 1-4)
• coordinate delivery teams responsible for infrastructure, platform and integration workstreams
• maintain oversight of Unity technical timelines, dependencies and risks
• engage with vendors and internal teams to ensure technical prerequisites are delivered on time
• ensure technical environments are available, secure and fit for testing and production
• escalate issues, blockers and resource conflicts to programme governance structures
• review technical deliverables and sign off against acceptance criteria
• support cross-cutting initiatives including data migration, identity access and integration

Qualifications and Experience

• proven experience in technical project or programme delivery within large-scale transformation programmes
• strong understanding of change management, platform deployment, and system integration
• ability to use MS Projects and detailed planning experience
• experience coordinating cross-functional technical teams and managing third-party vendors
• ability to manage technical risks, dependencies, and resource conflicts across multiple workstreams
• familiarity with environment readiness, including test and production setup, security, and access controls
• strong stakeholder engagement and communication skills, with experience reporting into governance structures
• experience working in agile, waterfall, or hybrid delivery environments

Context and Benefits

Here at the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government (MHCLG), we work on things that make a real difference to people's lives. We have ambitious and far-reaching outcomes to achieve this year and, if you're thinking of joining us, there's never been a more exciting time. We have over 3,500 staff who are based in 20 offices across the UK. Alongside your salary of £54,531, MHCLG contributes to a Civil Service Pension scheme. We offer learning and development tailored to your role, flexible working options, an inclusive culture, and a Civil Service pension with employer contributions.

Additional Information

Security and nationality information: Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before appointment (Counter-Terrorist Check). Nationality requirements and Civil Service recruitment principles apply. The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. This role may be offered as a fixed-term appointment with potential for permanency, or as a secondment, depending on eligibility. For details, refer to the candidate pack and local guidance.